March Ministry Update

Asheville Winter Retreat

Charleston and Greenville regions hosted 450 students and staff in Asheville, NC Feb 17-19.  We heard 3 times from Ben Creasman on the source of all-satisfying joy being found in Jesus, some visited the Biltmore and most spent Saturday afternoon skiing. This was the first Campus Outreach event for many students and a number of non-Christians came as well.

A few encouraging comments from students at the retreat: "I didn't expect a Christian event to be this fun"
"I was encouraged that the students and staff were so welcoming and eager to build relationships with my non-Christian friends"

Answered prayers in Bible study:
It would be daunting to personally try to give 4 senior guys right Biblical perspectives for life after college in regards to church, marriage, character, money, etc. I’ve been reminded each week though that it is God that is doing the work in these guys heart.  And, the study we’re using has led us to some great scripture. Here are 2 specific prayers God has answered for this group:

1)      Week 2- my prayer the morning of the Bible study: to have an opportunity to grow relationally with the guys apart from the 1.5 hour Bible study time.  After wrapping up at 11:45pm (way past my bed time!), one guy yelled "Waffle House run"…and of course we went.  It seems small, but it was encouraging to see God answer this prayer- providing a fun time to connect relationally with these guys over some butter-rich pancakes!

2)      Week 3- my prayer an hour before the study: for the guys to take a visible step of commitment in the Bible study.  So at 11:30pm (when we try to be done) I told the guys we could either stop or talk through an article about transitioning from the campus to the local church.  One guy literally said “this stuff is awesome, we are definitely finishing it!”  Even though 3 of the 4 guys had a paper due the next day, by their choice, we kept going for another 45 minutes. Not until after they left did I realized this was the answer to my prayer- instead of leaving, they pressed through, and we ended up having really good discussion about the article.

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National Conference media
Listen to any of the talks or seminars from our 'One Life' National Conference this past January in Chattanooga- just click the picture from the New Year's party or this link http://conationalconference.com